In the beginning I placed a personal ad: Section-hiker, 41, seeks partner(s) for continuation of A.T. hike in New Hampshire, heading south from Crawford Notch, late  July, 200x, 10-14 days, at 7-10 miles per day. Huts and camping.  Heather Warren…@virginia.edu>. I had never done anything like this before.  When my then husband decided he would no […]

       On a Friday late in July, I took a 7:30am flight out of Charlottesville to reach Boston, having successfully stowed all of my gear and my share of the supplies in two large L.L. Bean duffel bags.  Despite the many positive indications, I wondered if Karen and I really would get along,

Diarrhea, a backpacker’s nightmare, hit me like a train running non-stop through station after station.  What caused the sickness?  Not drinking enough water the two previous days while clambering over the exposed terrain of the northern Presidentials?  Hiking up the dreaded Wildcats with their five peaks and clawing foliage in record heat?  Stopping medication that